Expressions February 2011 by icare-India

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1 FEBRUARY 2011

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Amazing. After reading Expressions, My expression is that it is a great feeling to know that our country is in safe hands of our younger generation like the Divya’s and Chaitanya’s. How I wish Expressions comes on print and in all regional languages. I know for sure that those days are not far. The standard is truly international. No one will ever believe that in a span of a year you have achieved so much. Keep going. Wish you the very best

Thanks for exploring my nephew Ayaan’s talent. I read this magazine for the first time and I must applaud you for the work you’re doing.

Surabhi Kakrania I am so proud to have such a talented child like Ayaan in my class. Kudos to Expressions for featuring and promoting the young, talented children of our country

Aj Mithra Meghna Basu “Let every individual and institution now think and act as a responsible caretaker of Earth.” I congratulate iCARE for spreading awareness about crucial issues that affect our planet. I read the magazine for the first time a few months ago and was impressed by your dedication to your cause.

Prof. Sekar Keerthi was my first student when I started my career at the Government Arts College, Coimbatore, and it felt great to see his article being featured in Expressions. It is wonderful to witness what you have achieved in the short span of one year

I felt proud to see my young boy featured in Expressions. It feels special to know that at such a young age, where his tiny hands can barely hold a camera, Ayaan has such talent. Thanks for providing him a platform to showcase his skills.

Jayanada Panicker

Thank you to Yudhishter and his team. Special thanks to Akshay for doing a wonderful design job.

Rashmi Kakrania Vaid Good to see young talented guys and girls actively involved with full dedication. Great Going. Well Done

Sudhir Paliwal

CO NT A CT US Write to us at Expressions 51-A Subhash Road Adj. Needs Super Mart Dehradun – 248001 Uttarakhand

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FEBRUARY 2011

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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Cover Story

founder & editor

Yudhishter Puran Singh

12 Peepal Live Shivang Mehta

copy & desk editor

Shubhodeep Pal

Features 6 Who are the real young changemakers? Yudhishter Puran Singh 8 The Local Patch - A Personal Story Harshit Singh 15 Flamingoes of Mumbai Caesar Sengupta 23 Winged Wonders Tejas Soni 26 Global Focus aka Oil Spill Priyata Kalra 30 Spaceship Earth Keith Menon 32 Face to Face with Richa Sharma 34 Young Changemakers Conclave Satya Kari

features editor

Karishma Gulati creative editor

Akshay Madan news editor

Subhinay Khosla

photo editor

Sandip Puran Singh subscription team

Harshal Mirchandani, Lavish Bhatia marketing

Lotus Leaf Business Exhibitions

tushar_icare@live.com

Gaurav Gupta (Rest of India)

19 Photo Story Sachin Rai

gaurav_icare@live.com

10 Bird Watching in Doon Sandip Puran Singh 36 In The News

I need hardly mention who the boy pictured above is. What’s interesting about my story is that, for the better part of my growing years, I lived almost at the dead-centre of Dehradun, hardly a stone’s throw from the Clock Tower (assuming, of course, that a relatively strong person would be throwing the stone). And these birds would sometimes come even in throngs to peck at the breadcrumbs. I’ve mentioned earlier how the transition from small-town to capital has hurt Doon’s trees. I should have mentioned that the “change for better” has hurt our birds as well. At least, I’m assuming they were hurt. Because birds in Doon have suddenly gone missing. Most of them, I think. My grandparents (and, indeed, my parents) have often recounted tales of breathtakingly beautiful birds being spotted in Dehradun. Now, even crows are scarce. Why is this so? I can only offer two plausible reasons for their disappearance: either they’ve died due to a lack of natural habitat, or, hopefully, they’ve fled to more verdant regions of the state. I dearly hope the latter is true. I grew up reading books that, among other things, recounted tales of people being fascinated by birds, having pet birds (without cages) and indulging in that apparently forgotten hobby called birdwatching. I still remember being fascinated by the word ornithology (even though that has a more technical implication) when I first came across it. I wonder if the coming generations will ever be able to imagine “watching” birds in their corporeal avatars, outside National Geographic channel.

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Tushar Goel (NCR Region)

Regulars

Once upon a time, not too long ago, a young boy would watch in fascination as sparrows crowded his house’s aangan and pecked at breadcrumbs kept aside for them by his grandmother. Soon, he’d be the one eager to set aside the breadcrumbs in their usual place. This routine carried on every day for a number of years till he was about seven or eight. Sometimes, he’d even set aside a bowl of water for them. The birds would, without fail, come at the time each day, have their fill, and then leave. Nobody disturbed them, and they weren’t disturbed by the presence of adults around them. Then, slowly, inexplicably, the birds stopped coming. At first, a few would come for some days a week. Then they stopped coming altogether.

cover design

This issue of Expressions will, I am sure, fill our older readers with nostalgia and fascinate our younger readership. The world of birds is unique, wonderful and deeply enriching. I hope some of you will be motivated to bring back, not just to Doon, but to wherever you live (in some measure), the birds that used to throng your cities in the years gone by. Let not the word “twitter” exist only in a computer window!

Akshay Madan Best

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ALL EDITORIAL QUERIES MUST BE DIRECTED TO The Editor, Expressions, 51-A Subhash Road, Dehradun 248140, Uttarakhand, India M: +919411114921, Fax: 011-66173614

Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Expressions., its publisher and/or editors. We at Expressions do our best to verify the information published but do not take any responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the information.

Shubhodeep Pal

Copy and Desk Editor, Expressions

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THE REAL YOUNG CHANGE MAKERS

REAL YOUNG

CHANGE MAKERS

ver the past few months I have attended quite a few seminars and conferences on various issues from Energy efficiency to Environmental Sustainability etc. When the time came for me to write an article for the February issue, I was in two minds about what to write on. That’s when I decided to start a series of 2-3 articles primarily focusing on conferences: Are they worth attending? What are the drawbacks? What does one do at a conference? What should an ideal conference be like? In this article I will briefly share with you the common flaws I have observed in most conferences.

I observed a number of interesting things during the three-day event. To start with, I feel most of the conferences we hear about only try to attract the elite, sophisticated, urban, tech-savvy youth. I remember being interviewed by a journalist during the first day of the conference. He asked me - “Do you think this audience has the finest young talent from the country”? I answered NO: the people present in this room are not necessarily the best in our country. I firmly believe that the finest talents in our country are not ALL based in the metros or even cities. Many of them hail from small towns and even villages. Surprised? The truth is that the youth in these places can identify the reality and seriousness of the problems since they see it all around them without the comfort of luxury cars or homes or wealth in general. Hence, who better than THEM to be the real CHANGE-MAKERS of this COUNTRY?

To start with, let me narrate an incident. Last month, I had the privilege of attending the “United Nations Young Change Makers conclave” held in New Delhi. The conclave was attended by some of the finest young talents in the country. It was all about giving the youth of the country a chance to work for a better and sustainable tomorrow. Second , during the conclave it struck me that there seemed to be quite an age difference beThe conclave was attended by eminent person- tween the delegates participating which is probalities like Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Bose and ably not helpful. For instance, consider what will Teesta Setalvad to name a few. The three-day happen if you’re an amateur attending a profesevent saw students being divided into multi-dis- sional event or vice-versa. I agree that for 16 ciplinary groups. They were asked to prepare an year olds it’s a great platform to start their ca‘Action Plan’ on various topics ranging from Wa- reers but I am sure it’s a far better option if you ter Harvesting and Conservation to Environmen- classify and separate the delegates according tal Sustainability to Educational Opportunities for to their age-groups. This will not only result in all. Each of the participating delegates got the building great camaraderie among the delegates opportunity to attend various workshops on so- but will also help the organizers design specific cial entrepreneurship, the power of media, fund programs catering to their level of understand-raising etc. Panel discussions were organized ing. with an interactive session with various personalities from the corporate world to govt. representatives.

Third, I feel that the USP of such conferences should be to provide the youth a platform to interact with the country’s finest talent and work collectively on various issues that interest them. Sadly most of the organizers do not take into account how important it is to have a well-integrated system for staying in touch after the conference. What is the point of having so many of the country’s finest talent with you for three days and then “forgetting” the delegates? Rather 20-30 delegates should be selected and given a chance to work together for the whole year . They should be groomed, nurtured and gradually taken to the next level. Another aspect that one misses out on is that there is a disconnect between the deliberators and the delegates who are attending. Interactive sessions have always been a part of the agenda but only a few people get a chance to question the deliberators. What about the ones who never got a chance? That too, not because they didn’t want to, but because of paucity of time. What can be done in such a scenario? Possibly, having small, very personalized interactive sessions with a smaller group of delegates would help.

photo: Tanu Dogra

WHO ARE THE

The truth is that the youth in these places can identify the reality and seriousness of the problems since they see it all around them with. out the comfort of luxury cars or homes or wealth in general.

such platforms to his/her benefit. I am sure some of you probably want to know why, when I claim to know so much about conferences, I don’t organize one myself. To be honest my main agenda to attend conferences in the past few months was to identify the positives and negatives and based on that come up with a national or international level event which can act as a model for others to follow. I have tried to express some of my concerns with I don’t know whether we at iCARE will succeed but the current format of most conferences and I hope we all believe that the end results do not matter. It’s you agree with me. These conferences are great the hard work that counts! platforms but more can be done. My next article will talk about how a young delegate can use © EXPRESSIONS 2011

Yudhishter Puran Singh 22 year old graduate from Mumbai University, a young entrepreneur who loves to devote whatever time he can towards creating awareness about the need for preserving environment. Presently he leads the icare team and is also the editor of expressions

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THE

LOCAL PATCH

To bird doesn’t mean sighting and forgetting the creature but to remain there even after sighting them and observing and enjoying them until your body tires

the story of my fascination with birds

fter about 7 years of birding, I have realized at least one thing about birds, which in fact applies to all creatures that humans have come to love or study. Birding or other hobbies that involve studying other creatures is unlike philately (collecting stamps). Birding is not about identifying and noting the birds or adding them to your ‘species-sighted’ list. Instead, it’s actually about diving into the world of these feathered bipeds and feeling their companionship. Of pets, birds, I believe, remain in the most awful situation when caged. However, even they can be kept as pets when one is able to create the ‘wild’ bond between the creature and oneself without even touching each other, but by the slow notion of trust– building.

The story doesn’t end here since there are many other birds with whom I have a significant bond. At this point one starts thinking and looking at birds not just as a different group of species in which only the rare are valuable but one also learns to value the most common ones. This is possible by roaming one place again and again and familiarizing oneself with the creatures there, in your Local Patch. The major thing that happens this way is that when you look at the creatures you just don’t see a species; you see and value each individual.

When I was still in junior school, my family had shifted, much to my dismay, to Vasundhara, Ghaziabad from my birthtown of New Delhi. But a special thing happened. I was to get a place for my birding that was truly To bird doesn’t mean sighting and forgetting unique with different biomes in a compact the creature but to remain there even after space of about 2 square kilometers since my sighting them and observing and enjoying maternal uncle, who made me start this acthem until your body tires or finds some- tivity, had left for UAE on a job contract. thing more important or interesting (which usually is not the case since it is fascinating The first morning in my new house, I woke to observe how these bipeds possess almost up at about 5 to what seemed like the call human-like intellect and instinct). This is pos- of the Asian Koel and I rushed out to see sibly the best way to befriend a bird, which is the resident who was making the noise. I only possible when both creatures feel equal found something very special that I earlier to each other, regardless of their sizes. I was hadn’t noticed. There, at my backyard lay a able to make a friends with a huge male barn small forest, that I came to know later on – owl and named it Shurikan. On lonely eve- was maintained by an Ashram adjacent to nings, it perches on the terrace and doesn’t it. As for that morning wake up call, it was stir even when I come in through the ter- indeed by a Male Asian Koel who had surace door or sit beside it. Also, I befriended preme scarlet eyes - possibly one of the a flock of 8 Jungle Babblers that come in my most striking I have seen. That day, as I left backyard every afternoon and morning; and for my new school as a fourth–grader, I saw even the occasional Shikra (another terrace that on the road to the right lay a huge wavisitor). ter tank and beside it laid a water treatment

plant lying in absolute ruin, full of high grasses and common weeds like Xanthium and Cyprinus Rotundus. While I looked at the half-broken walls of the structure, there near a pool of trailing water rushed in a monitor lizard about 1 meter in length. I was to see it regularly for many years. The next spot to discover was my school ground, a place full of Oriental White Eyes, Red-vented Bulbuls and Green bee-eaters that fill the spot every summer and monsoon as the grasshopper spawns come out in the time of these sprinkles. Also, I had the chance to see a pair of Black Kites continuously for 3 years, observing their life-cycle for 6 hours a day (the spark that attracted me to study raptors in particular). Behind the Ashram runs the Hindon River, filled with Darters, White-breasted Kingfishers, Little ringed and Kentish Plovers, Pond Herons, Yellow – wattled Lapwings, etc. Behind the river are small farms of cabbage, barley and wheat. In winters, these invite White-browed Fantails, a rarity for the area, but a heavenly observation for any birder. The road in the farmland area stretches for about 2 km where I bird along the cycle path, sighting or observing Little & Cattle Egrets for prolonged periods by stopping at the road along the fields. The fourth birding spot on the Local Patch is the foul smelling, but rich in avian–diversity, Sewage Treatment Plant. About

Harshit Singh

a km from my home, the place is where the black kites and water birds, both reside adjacent to each other, with all the small birds protected by an eucalyptus thicket at the corner of the plant. Birds here include a flock of about 2830 Black-winged stilts, a Darter, a Cormorant, a pair of Black-headed Ibis, a flock of 6 Indian Peafowl (1 male and 5 females), Black Drongos, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Mynas, House Crows (in constant battle with the kites), Purple Swamphen, White-breasted Waterhens, Green Bee-Eaters and many more. One last location includes a bicycle ride of about one and a half kilometers up the Hindon River and across the Hindon Barrage. This is actually an old bridge, which, if seen closely from the below, is a place to witness a great phenomena. Every evening the belly of the bridge is full of at least 200 Crag Martins that return at dusk to feed their young at this mass nesting site. These are one of the most joyful experiences as the parents regurgitate the food into their fledgling’s mouth. This is also the point at which I end most of my birding trips before cycling slowly back through the palm lined kaccha road along the river to my house to look at the Barn Owls and Shurikan. On the way back, there’s always one thought in my head: conservation could reach such great heights if every birder and conserver valued his or her ‘Local Patch’!

a 14 year old student from New Delhi is an ardent sopporter of the bird cause. He not only voices his opinion about bird care and protection by writing, but also runs an NGO - ‘Magpies and Treepies’ - for the cause of birds from New Delhi

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BIRD WATCHING IN DOON

Bird watching can be a lively sport and a creative hobby for those living in and around the Doon valley. It just requires a little bit of sensitivity and a second look at the nearest tree in your garden. With this article on Bird Watching we introduce a new series on nature watch.

Originally it was my intention to bring out a series that described the common birds of Doon. I wanted to discuss one bird at a time, something would have a description of the bird with its behavior; but when I talked to a friend he had a few simple questions, “Why birds – why should one watch birds?, “You see”, I explained to him, “it is a hobby that children can take to school and continue right through life, whether grow up and join the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the Indian Military Academy, or run a business on the Rajpur road – Doon is a surrounded on all sides by trees, river beds orchards, bushes and fields where literally thousands of birds live out of their lives amongst us. The best part is, it costs so little. It is perhaps the cheapest hobby available to the boys and girls, and as a hobby it not only provides wholesome recreational pleasure it gives aesthetic delight as well and also inculcates a scientific attitude which is conspicuous by its absence in our daily formal school curriculum. And let me also add that many a contributions to the science of ornithology have come from the keen observations of amateur. His next question was equally simple and perhaps even more pertinent and that was, “while it is one thing for someone who already knows something about birds it is quite another for one who no knowledge whatsoever – in other words how is one

to begin?” So I thought to myself why not write a series which will introduce a newcomer to the realm of bird watching – something which deal with the most basic concepts of how to identify and watch birds, where to go and how to behave – what to watch and what sounds to listen to. How to take notes and make sketches? Let us take an average Doonite, someone who is not at all interested in birds – even he will recognize the ‘Tota’, the ‘’Mynah’, the ‘Sparrow’, the ‘bulbul’ and the ‘lal’of the Doon, because the valley is full of them and then there are those like the ‘koel’and the ‘Caphel Paco’ which one may not have seen but come the spring time and the Doon echoes with their familiar calls and songs. Now think if the average uninterested person can recognize a dozen or so birds without really caring, someone who makes a concerted effort can easily learn to recognize many more. If you make that effort, your rewards would actually be far greater than just a list of birds. You will enter the marvelous, mysterious world of nature and come to appreciates its beauties and complexities. You will see for yourself the delicate balance of Nature and how easily it can be disrupted and will start to care passionately about preserving that balance.

photo: akshay madan

In recent years Bird Watching has become a hobby for increasing larger number of people, particular the youth. Newspaper and magazines frequently publish articles on various aspects of bird life, and children especially are taking to this hobby as never before, encouraged by the variety found in the wooded surroundings of the valley.

Bird watching is a sport for everyone, not just for the young but even for the old. It can be as simple as scattering some ‘Bajra’ or ‘chawal’ on your lawn to trekking up into the Himalayas in search of the Mountain Quail. And if adolescents can be enthusiastic and indefatigable birders so can grandparents.

To get started in bird watching, two things are all you will require – a good field guide and a good pair of binoculars (they will be dealt with in detail in subsequent issues), the best you can afford. Once in possession of these you are ready to get serious about birds. This is when a beginner has to learn how to learn what to look for in a bird, how to describe what is seen and to accurately record what has been observed, in a notebook. Subsequently these notes are compared with the description of birds in the field guide. Remember it is always useful to start with familiar birds like the sparrows, doves, bulbuls and parakeets that are so numerous in Doon. The important features that one will have to bear in mind are size, form, colouration, flight-pattern and the habitat where is bird is found. At this stage the beginner will require a sound knowledge of the terms used to describe various parts of the bird. Observing the bird behavior will be just as important as its colour and shape and often leads to positive identification. Features worth observing includes how the bird moves on the ground, how it climbs up trees, whether it has a weak flight or a powerful one, does it feed on the ground or from a perch on the trees or buses and so on. Remember watching the same birds over and over again will enable you to find answers to these questions. Of course, when all is said and written about bird watching there is nothing so helpful as to have the guidance of an old bird watcher who can, not only help you plan your first field visit but can actually show you how to be systematic in collating what you have observed. Always remember that the data you collect must be organized in such a way as to include

“Now think if the average uninterested person can recognize a dozen or so birds without really caring, someone who makes a concerted effort can easily learn to recognize many more.” the place, names, dates, time weather conditions – was the sky clear or cloudy – whether it was warm or cold, windy or calm? You must also note the size of the area you cover, whether the birds were seen singly or in groups, were they calling to each other or were they silent, the various dates on which the birds were sighted in case of migrants and any other detail you might consider worth recording. In order to help you do these things, the subject has been dealt with under different headings to facilitate you to begin you bird watching one step at a time in the forthcoming issues. These include field craft, equipment, identification, field marks, plumage and moult, behavior, calls and songs, habitat, weather and the ‘bird watchers calendar’. In the end I would like to say just one more thing that bird watching has more to it than meets the eye. Salim Ali who lived to the age of 91 had this to say in the concluding statement of his autobiography – which perhaps says it all: “I have watched birds through half a century and more, chiefly for pleasure and elation of the spirit they have offered. Bird watching provided me the excuse for removing myself to where every prospect pleases – up in the mountains or deep in the jungles – away from the noisy rough and rumble of dubious civilization of this mechanical high speed age. A farm of escapism, may be, but one that hardly needs justification”. (The Fall of the Sparrow)

Sandip Puran Singh Writer is the founder of SUSWA, an NGO working along the northern boundary of Rajaji National Park. He’s also an avid bird watcher and an amateur naturalist working on the Doon valley. His love for photographing the valley can be seen by logging onto www.icarefordoon. org and can be reached at seemasandeepsingh@gmail.com

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by their specie counterpart as a white bellied drongo perched itself right on the branch above. On the right hand patch of the tree, the tree tops were dominated by a parakeet family. In the beginning it was just a couple of rose ringed parakeets that were feeding in the golden morning light. However, within minutes, a pair of plum headed parakeets joined the party and before I could take the entire family in one frame, an Alexander parakeet caught hold of the top most branch to make a complete family picture.

s my car passed through the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, the sight dampened my spirits. Massive mining and quarrying operations had left dents on the lands of the buffer zone of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve – the Jewel of Vidharbha. My apprehensions however died as I entered the reserve, magnificent with the sun rays filtering through a lush green forest that was sparkling after the monsoon showers.

the birds of Tadoba had just started their daily chores. We were crossing the scenic Tadoba Lake looking for some trace of the big cat when the sudden cheetal alarm calls caught my attention. Taking refuge under a huge banyan tree, I strained my ears as the calls slowly died, informing us that the predator has either settled down or left the area. This call of the cheetal announced a waiting game and we held our breaths in anticipation.

In the midst of the excitement that a predator movement causes in a forest, you tend to ignore the action going on around you. A flameback woodpecker suddenly took off from a tree at the back of our vehicle and flew towards this peepal tree, thereby drawing my attention towards a “chirping” patch of vegetation, where the woodpecker perched itself on a branch, joining its companion. As I was observing the hops of the woodpecker pair, a golden oreole darted inside the tree, flaunting its shiny yellow coat in bright sunlight. Further scanning of the tree revealed a pair of black drongos The weather was a bit cloudy and the trees calling each other from adjacent branches. and bushes were buzzing with activity as The drongo conversation was intervened The highlight of my Tadoba visit could have been the 4-5 minutes that I spent with the striped queen who walked in front of my vehicle (marking her territory) and majestically patrolled the picturesque Telia Lake, for the highlight wasn’t definitely the part where a pair of wild dogs came out on to the middle of the road from nowhere, or when I saw two sloth bears on two consecutive days. However, the hours that followed these short and sweet sightings had something amazing in store which became the feature of the visit.

COVER STORY

With eyes glued to the top of the tree, I missed some action in the center where purple sunbirds were flying in and out of the leaves in search of flower nectar in the bushes behind the tree. The buzz inside the patch forced me to lift my binoculars for a closer look. Oriental white eyes, red vented bulbuls and jungle wabblers were the reason for the hustle and just as I was lowering the binoculars, a blackish silhouette perched itself on the left corner of the tree. I caught hold of my camera and as the lens focused on the patch, a beautiful pied cuckoo emerged from behind in bright light with a caterpillar catch as its

A flameback woodpecker suddenly took off from a tree at the back of our vehicle and flew towards this peepal tree, thereby drawing my attention towards a “chirping” patch of vegetation

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COVER STORY morning breakfast. Hopping from one branch to another, it relished its breakfast and finally came out in the open posing in front of me for some good couple of minutes. The peace and tranquility of a tree for a few minutes made it a hot spot for birds around the location but, the peace was momentary. The predator somewhere in the deep and dense bushes decided to continue its morning walk and the cheetal gave frantic alarm calls yet again. The drongos were the first to leave and were followed by the parakeets. Within seconds a tree that was sheltering around 40 odd species of birds stood birdless. This was a face of nature that I witnessed for the first time – natural shelters are momentary! Birds Sighted around that tree in Tadoba that morning • Changeable Hawk Eagle • Crested Serpent Eagle • Grey Hornbill • Green Bee Eater • Chestnut Headed Bee Eater • Pied Hornibill • Pied Cuckoo • Flameback Woodpecker • Alexander Parakeet • Rose ringed parakeet • Plum headed parakeet • Black drongo • Racket Tailed Drongo • White bellied drongo

I’d emphasize again- One tree!

Shivang Mehta a wildlife photographer who organizes wildlife photography workshops for Nature Wanderers across for-

FLAMINGOES OF M UMBAI It was 26 April 2009 – surely a memorable day of my life. I hadn’t even heard of such a big “Flamingo base” in Navi Mumbai. Until a few years back, Navi Mumbai wasn’t a hotspot for watching flamingoes. Our trip was no big planning – just a unanimous decision to go ‘flamingo watching’ in Airoli for the weekend. My long pending dream of visiting Nal Sarovar to see flamingoes was seemingly getting true in the neighborhood itself. I could never imagine that Airoli, a well developed residential suburb in Navi Mumbai could be such a visual treat - so magical! 4000 flamingos - all around you, wading, flying, swimming, diving, fishing - a pink panorama! Flame birds -’Agnipankh’, just a couple of hours on one fine Sunday morning, and a reward of a lifetime! Shutters on job - click click click – hues of pink all around us, carefree of the presence of the boat. Infact, the boat went straight into Blue throated barbet the flock without causing any disturbance- causing their wings to beat only when the boat went too near. Amazing - amazing!

ests of India

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FLAMINGO E S O F M U M B AI

F LAMIN GOE S O F M UM BAI

Green Backed Tit

Blue whistling thrush

background photo akshay madan

Sewri bay and Mahul jetty have been centres of attraction for flamingo watching in Mumbai for years. Although Mahul, a branch of the Mithi river, is now choked and clogged with garbage, it offers a good treat to the novice bird watcher, with flamingoes flocked together in thousands during high tide. However, after police supervision got stricter due to the unfortunate incidences of violence against birds some years back, Mahul was no longer kept open for public bird watching. To top it up, the disturbances in the habitat base created by the Bandra-Worli sea link has apparently caused the flamingoes to shift base to Navi Mumbai and hence the pink panorama in Airoli.

ter. Both Greater and Lesser flamingoes are now protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Flamingoes migrate to India from chiefly Nigeria and Africa. The two sub species that migrate to Mumbai are the Greater Flamingoes, dark pink in colour with a pinkish beak and the Lesser Flamingoes with a distinct pink colour and a dark pink beak. They stay here for quite a few months before they fly to Kutch for breeding.

There had been incidences of illegal trading of flamingo meat in Uran (a part of the Navi Mumbai city township) in the past. However, thanks to Nikhil Bhopale and Sandeep Athavle, the matter was taken to police. This issue was then addressed by some highly active NGOS and due to the great extent of decibel created, such inhuman incidences were not heard of thereaf-

Today, Uran is completely destroyed. Hardly in the history of ecosystem conservation would someone have witnessed such rapid and massive avian habitat destruction due to anthropogenic activities. A birdwatchers heaven, which used to shelter hundreds and thou-

Crested Kingfisher

Grey headed canary flycatcher

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FLAMINGO E S O F M U M B AI

PHOTO STORY

SA C HI N RA I

His work has been acknowledged in the form of ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ Award and the Joint Second Prize for Wildlife Photography at the Sanctuary Asia ABN-Amro Awards (2007). He has also received consistent Special Mentions from 2007- 09 in the same event and a Special Mention in 2009 in Better Photographymagazine as well. Long idle trails through the forest bring immense pleasure even today but a decade of obsession with the shutter has never once fizzled. Can be reached at http:// www.landofthewild.com/

Himalayan griffon sands of migratory birds every year, would never vibrate again. To add to it, NMMC’s approval of the development of an entertainment and recreation center in Airoli creek puts the new habitat base at stake too. The fate of the beautiful flamingoes of Mumbai is uncertain.

Himalayan bulbul

LOOKING OUT Common Hawk Cuckoo

Dr Caesar Sengupta, MD is the General Manager and Head Laboratory Operations of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd. He has been passionate about photography since he was a child of 12 years. He still manages to take out time to nurture his passion of wildlife photography amidst his busy schedules of corporate professionalism. He has traveled extensively across the country and his work has been acknowledged and appreciated in various media, publication houses, forums and organisations throughout India.

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PHOTO STORY

PHOTO STORY HEY WHO’S THERE ? Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

HELLO THERE ! eurasian jay

EXCUSE ME, I’M A LITTLE SHY Baybacked Shrike

JONATHAN LIVINGSTONE River Tern chasing a gull

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(WINGED WONDERS)

PHOTO STORY

My evolution as a bird photographer and a glimpse of style and technique.

JUST, LOOK AT ME Black-necked Stork

am no novice in the world of art. I have been in love with the works of Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci since I was 15 and I am engulfed by my passion for painting,sculpting and sketching. The true beauty of art is in the fact that it forever keeps you a learner. I enjoy art in any form, be it music, performing arts or photography. I believe that it was my love and involvement in various forms of art that made me step into the vast domain of bird photography.It all started about four years back. Birds were always around obviously; I had just never seen them this way before. I could not believe the variety in form, colour and shape amongst birds.I used to think of myself as a “learned man” as far as light, colours and effects was concerned, considering my love for art, but soon I was a “layman”, inspired to learn-for I was baffled. I was movedbeyond my imagination when I entered the world of birds. However, since the “mov-

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photographs by Sachin Rai FEBRUARY 2011

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WINGED WONDERS

WINGED WONDERS ing-in”, I have managed to capture thousands of birds in frames. My journey from an amateur to a dedicated and passionate birdlover to finally an accomplished and professional bird photographer did not happen overnight. It involved days and nights of sweat, pain and hard work. But the resultant pleasure was immense. My passion has taken me to places like Velavadar, also known as“little Rann of Kutchh”, the Gir forest, Nalsarovar, Jim Corbett National Park, Nainital, Pariyaj and so many unexplored and remoteplaces. To click these chirping beauties, I explored TheTholLake (TholBird Sanctuary,Mehsana,Gujarat) which is a heaven for ornithologists and amateur bird watchers and photographers, and fell in love with the place. For me, Thol Lake is synonymous with a temple and I worked there dedicatedly and religiously. The result was what people call amazing photography! Now i had to develop a form in my photography-a uniquestyle.But i didn’t plan on such a thing.I just clicked shot after shot, hourafter hour and day after day till days became months

and months turned into years. The mysteries of light, colours and the very beauty of nature captivatedme and I just wanted to capture every moment without bothering about the results. Gradually, a style started to develop on its own, naturally!I am not a trained photographer and so my development should be a source of inspiration for all those who can’t afford professionaltraining and education. It proves that pure passion and crazy dedicationtowards one’s goals areenough a qualification to make him/her successful. My zest for perfection is at times so powerful that my day to day life gets hindered due to it. Slowly, with time, my style is developing and thanks to social media, I’m well acquainted with hundreds of people with similar interests and feel honored to befriends with some amazing people in this profession. Actually only a photographer would know the pain and effort that goes behind a single shot. So manytimes, I’ve had to spend hours and even weeks to get the perfect shot. It’s difficult sometimes to manage the life of a common householder and that of a nature lover. But I’ve had immense family support. Here, I would like to thank my dearest wife,Ekta and my loving son, Lay. Without their support, the journey of my life would not have been so enjoyable.

photographs by Tejas Soni

I am an artist, a free soul and a FREE BIRD....

Tejas Soni

is a freelance sculptor and painter based in Ahmedabad (Gujarat). He is a man of many talents and ardently pursues wildlife photography and sketching. He also enjoys playing the flute,harmonica and guitar.

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GLOBAL FOCUS AKA OIL SPILL

ver the years, our dependence on energy resources has resulted in vast upliftment of industrial and economic growth and this dependence of us has resulted in huge gap between demand and supply ratios. Our demands have increased tremendously but we have very limited resources to fulfil our supplies. Energy resources are basically divided into two groups: Renewable and Non renewable energy resources. Renewable energy resources are those sources from which we utilize energy for our growth without putting a strain on the environment. These are those natural resources which are easily available everywhere and it includes Solar energy, Water energy, Wind energy etc. Non renewable energy resources are those resources which have a limited availability and these are the prime concerns when it comes to dealing with environment related problems like oil spills which is the focus of this article. Non renewable energy resources include the fossil fuels like coal, petrol etc. The major reason for using these sources for our energy demand is mainly because in most of the cases the energy source is a hydrocarbon compound which has a high calorific value.

An oil spill is a release of a hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity which may be due to machine error or may be due to negligence. it is one form of pollution which damages the environment particularly the marine or the aquatic environment. Oil spills include releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, and heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily white substance refuse or waste oil. Spills may take months or even years to clean up. The oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds, reducing its insulating ability, thus making the birds more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It also impairs birdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; flight abilities to forage and escape from predators. As they attempt to preen birds typically ingest oil that covers their feathers, causing kidney damage,

Pollution pouring from a dredge pipe altered liver function, and digestive tract irritation. This and the limited foraging ability quickly causes dehydration and metabolic imbalances. Hormonal balance alteration including changes in luteinizing protein can also result in some birds exposed to petroleum. Most birds affected by an oil spill die unless there is human intervention. Marine mammals exposed to oil spills are affected in similar ways as seabirds. Oil coats the fur of Sea otters and seals, reducing its insulation abilities and leading to body temperature fluctuations and hypothermia. Ingestion of the oil causes dehydration and impaired digestions. Because oil floats on top of water, less sunlight penetrates into the water, limiting the photosynthesis of marine plants and phytoplankton. This, as well as decreasing the fauna populations, affects the food chain in the ecosystem. There are three kinds of oil-consuming bacteria. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and acid-producing bacteria are anaerobic, while general aerobic bacteria (GAB) are aerobic. These

bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove oil from an ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain. The most recent oil spill which occurred was the Gulf of Mexico spill which is also known as Deepwater horizon oil spill(named after the rig on which it took place) and is perhaps the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill resulted in loss of 11 lives and injuring 17 others who were at that time stationed on the Deep Water Horizon Rig which was owned by British Petroleum and was taken on lease from Transocean . The spill resulted from a sea floor oil gusher which resulted from an explosion which took place on the rig on 20th April 2010 releasing about 205.8 million gallons of crude oil. It was estimated that around 60,000 barrels of crude oil was getting flowed in the sea continuously for almost three months and damamging the aquatic life as well as bringing a great loss to locals who were

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GLOBAL FOCUS AKA OIL SPILL staying in the surrounding of the well. The spill continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. In late November, 4,200 square miles of the Gulf were re-closed to shrimping after tar balls were found in shrimpers’ nets. The total amount of Louisiana shoreline impacted by oil grew from 287 in July to 320 miles in late November. he oil’s spread was initially increased by strong southerly winds caused by an impending cold front.. The spill quickly approached the

about 5% found in typical oil deposits. Methane could potentially suffocate marine life and create dead zones where oxygen is depleted. Also many people believe that the natural gas dissolving below the surface has the potential to reduce the Gulf oxygen levels and emit benzene and other toxic compounds. This oil spill has resulted in rapid genetic mutation of some species. Scientists have discovered two new breeds of bottomdwelling pancake batfish of the Halieutichthys genus, in the area affected by the oil spill. SciDuck Killed by oil pollution entists have found signs of an oil-and-dispersant mix under the shells of tiny blue crab larvae in Delta National Wildlife Refuge andBreton Nation- the Gulf, indicating that the use of dispersants has al Wildlife Refuge. Researchers from University broken up the oil into droplets small enough they of Georgia have indicated that a substantial layer can easily enter the food chain. of oily sediment stretching for dozens of miles in all directions suggesting that a lot of oil did not Since, the oil coming out from the well was conevaporate or dissipate but may have settled to taining high percentages of polycyclic aromatic the seafloor. It describes seeing layers of oily hydrocarbons(PAH) which are believed to be material covering the bottom of the seafloor, in very carcinogenic in nature and also very poisonsome places more than 2 inches thick atop nor- ous. Since PAH can easily enter the food chains mal sediments containing dead shrimp and other through planktons or fishes, a recent study by an organisms. NGO suggested that the people residing in the area of accident are almost 40 times more prone This spill was the ‘worst environmental disaster to cancer and other diseases which can be introthe US has faced’.Factors such as petroleum duced due to some or the other form of mutation. toxicity, oxygen depletion and the use of Corexit The area in which the spill occurred was known dispersant are thought to be the main causes of for its fishes quality, the spill resulted in huge dedamage. Eight U.S.national parks are threatened. cline of Tuna population in the area. Also, the blue More than 400 species that live in the Gulf islands crab and oyster harvesting saw a major fall in its and marshlands are at risk, including the endan- cultivation. It is estimated that the fisheries indusgered Kemp’s Ridley turtle, the Green Turtle, the try had to bear $2.5 billion due to this accident. Loggerhead Turtle, the Hawksbill Turtle, and the People along the Gulf Coast were getting very Leatherback Turtle. In the national refuges most sick, with symptoms of dizziness, vomiting, nauat risk, about 34,000 birds have been counted, in- sea, headaches, and chest pains, not only from cluding gulls, pelicans, roseate spoonbills, egrets, the first responders to the crisis, but residents livterns, and blue herons. A comprehensive 2009 in- ing along the coast as well. ventory of offshore Gulf species counted 15,700. The area of the oil spill includes 8,332 species, BP initially promised to compensate all those including more than 1,200 fish, 200 birds, 1,400 affected. Soon, after meeting with President molluscs, 1,500 crustaceans, 4 sea turtles, and Obama, BP executives agreed to create a $20 29 marine mammals. Oceanographers have es- billion spill response fund. In the interim, BP posts timates that the crude gushing from the well con- its US assets worth $20 billion as bond. Cleanup tains approximately 40% methane, compared to and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and de-

GLOBAL FOCUS AKA OIL SPILL pends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water (affecting evaporation and biodegradation), and the types of shorelines and beaches involved. Use of Bioremediation i.e using microbes for cleaning purposes is one of the few technologies which is used for creating physically bonds to both soluble and insoluble hydrocarbons. The bioremediation accelerator acts as a herding agent in water and on the surface, floating molecules to the surface of the water, including solubles such as phenols,forming gel-like agglomerations. Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly. But it can only be done in low wind and can cause air pollution. Dispersants act as detergents, clustering around oil globules and allowing them to be carried away in the water. This improves the surface aesthetically, and mobilizes the oil. Smaller oil droplets, scattered by currents, may cause less harm and may degrade more easily. But the dispersed oil droplets infiltrate into deeper water and can lethally contaminate coral. Recent research indicates that some dispersants are toxic to corals. Use of vaccum and centrifuges can also be helpful in some cases. Oil can be sucked up along with the water, and then a centrifuge can be used to separate the oil from the water - allowing a tanker to be filled with near pure oil. Usually, the water is returned to the sea, making the process more efficient, but allowing small amounts of oil to go back as well. This issue has hampered the use of centrifuges

An oiled Swan due to a United States regulation limiting the amount of oil in water returned to the sea. The major reason for oil spill in most of the cases is either the accident of the oil carrying vessels or some accident like the deepwater horizon type occurs. Our energy demeands have increased so tremendously that we always take everything for granted i.e using the carrying vessels during bad weathers etc. It does not only put the human life to danger; Along with it also put many other species to the threat that we are creating for ourself. We should always remember that nature has given us tremendous resources for our civilisations and in return what are we giving back to it. We are totally spoiling our ecology. We should always remember that this blue planet does not only belongs to us, It belongs to thousands of other species who reside here and we have got no rights to bring their life to danger.

References: www.google.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill http://gulfblog.uga.edu/ http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=117051 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100524143425.htm http://www.lawcorps.org/docs/VietAmVolunteerLawCorpsWhitePaper2010.pdf Gulf Oil Spill ‘Could Go Years’ If Not Dealt With by F. William Engdahl RISK OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE BY BP OIL SPILL by Gianluigi Zangari, Frascati National Laboratories (LNF) - National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) Frascati 00044, Via E. Fermi, 40, ITALY.

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SPACESHIP EARTH

While we as a generation want to do a lot of good, we do not know where to start living and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. For humans, sustainability is the potential for longterm maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic and social dimensions. There are two major ways of reducing negative human impact and enhancing ecosystem services.

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew. - Marshall Mcluhan stated in 1964

remember a friend telling me once, ”There’s really not much you can do to save the earth.” He went on to join an airline company as a pilot and whenever he saw the earth from his little abode in the clouds, he saw change-much faster than you and I could sense. He had what one would term “a bird’s eye view” of the planet. Well he couldn’t see tigers and whales die, but what he could see wasdeclining forested area, 1000s of fishing trawlers scaling the sea, forest fires that would rage for weeks, cyclones, tsunamis, floods, et al. Thereafter, he couldn’t care less as to whether you or I wished to change the world – all he knew was that he did. And whether you help him or not, he will keep trying. Airlines are heading towards becoming the largest contributor to climate change. As remedial measures however, they plant a thousand trees that take about 5 odd years to grow, with a survival ratio of 1:3. Really then, how well are we “rem-

edying” anything? And you may ask, “How much can a pilot even do that would bear fruit?” But really, he or I don’t need to answer that question. How much do you do to remedy the imminent environmental crisis? You don’t need to answer this either. You need to question yourself. The Brundtland Commission of the United Nations concluded on March 20, 1987: “sustainable de-velopment is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising with the ability of the future generations to be able to meet their needs.” That was 1987. 23 years and ‘x’,’y’,’z’ generations later, we’re still only reading definitions. So when do we actually start doing anything about “Environmental Sustainability”? Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems re-main diverse and productive over time. Long-

• Environmental Management-this approach is based largely on information gained from earth science, environmental science, conservation biology. • Management of Human Consumption of Resources- this is based largely on information gained from economics. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms - Reorganizing living conditions (e.g. ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors (permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture) or work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy) and adjustments in individual lifestyles come under these “forms”.

At the recently concluded UNIC Young Changemakers Conclave, where I had the wonderful opportunity to be a mentor, I happened to meet a whole bunch of enthusiastic youngsters who were thrilled about changing the world. However, I did realize a basic flaw in our approach. While we as a generation want to do a lot of good, we do not know where to start. And here lies another problem. Google, Wikipedia and Facebook should really do the trick and help you get started but most of us don’t want to take the responsibility of wearing the green cap and donning the mantle. However all of us want to do at least something, so we take whatever opportunity comes our way. The YCC paved a great new path for the youth to follow. Some of the ideas that came up were wonderful, though their capability of bearing fruit is yet to be seen. We need change. And in some of the faces that emerged at the Conclave, the power to bring that change in no matter what capacity seemed to exude strongly. I am hopeful, and happy that I don’t hope alone. So from where I sit now (at a computer), charting out the year ahead, seeing where we can cause change and how fast, still in conversation with the group I mentored, I realise one thing – nothing is impossible for the youth.

Keith Menon Adventurer, writer, nature enthusiast, artist and music lover are some of the many words that can be used to describe Keith. At 16, Keith was travelling the world with international artists like The Bandish Projekt and Jal, helping with management. Keith’s passion for films and his writing skills subsequently led him to write for BalajiTelefilms and even Turner Broadcasting. At 22, Keith quit his corporate job and with hiis friends, lead the country into one of its most massive environmental awareness campaigns. Batti Bandh, in its first year (2007) saw 3 million+ individuals switch off their lights to switch on an era of environmental consciousness.

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FACE TO FACE

with

Richa Sharma (YCC) Richa Sharma is studying Political Science at the Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She has also been a keen participant in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences as well as other youth forums. Presently she heads the Global Entrepreneurs Program under AIESEC in Delhi University. She firm believes that inter- and intra-cultural dialogue is the need of the hour. We had the opportunity to catch up with her at the UN Young Changemakers Conclave in New Delhi recently. Excerpts from our conversation: EXPRESSIONS (E): What did you think were the main highlights of this conference? RICHA SHARMA (RS): Apart from the opportunity to meet and hear the views of eminent personalities such as Dr.Shashi Tharoor and Rahul Bose, it was remarkable to be part of a platform that brought together a hundred intelligent delegates from across the country. They were well-read about the challenges that India faces and passionate about changing the scenario. The ten Action Plans that were presented at the conference (on the focus areas of education, human rights, poverty and hunger, environment and water conservation) were remarkable. (E) Tell us a bit about your interest-group: RCA (RS) Rights Camera Action is a group of like- minded young people, passionate about addressing Human Rights issues in India. We work to make the urban youth in India aware of their human rights as well as those around them. Our focus within this theme, as of now, is awareness of political rights and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trasnsgender) rights. We also provide a forum for the youth to engage themselves in political issues of the moment. We don’t expect to make the forum academic; on the contrary, we’d rather make politics cool. This is in line with our motto “Be cool. Politically!”. We believe that a politically-aware youth is essential for India to achieve its dream of becoming a super-power. In addition, we aim to start an awareness campaign to inform the urban youth about LGBT issues. We are not here to start a revolution, but rather to sensitize the youth about the differences that exist in society today. In our campaign, LGBT stands for “Let’s Get Both Together”. I believe the high feasibility

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We believe that a politically-aware youth is essential for India to achieve its dream of becoming a super-power.

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of this idea in terms of its potential to be implemented successfully won us the Best Action Plan of the conference. However, the group had decided before the presentation that because of our genuine interest in human rights awareness, we would go ahead with it irrespective of the results of the competition.

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It is within this context that Rights Camera Action comes into the picture since we aim to get the youth involved in issues facing the country

(E) Do you think the youth is powerful enough to bring about change? What will be their role in implementing change? (RS) At the risk of sounding clichéd, I truly believe that the youth is the change agent for a better tomorrow. We have a clear understanding of what is going on, the only requirements are an interest in the present scenario and a will to change things if we feel something is wrong. There are 500million young people in India and this number provides our country with great potential to push forward. (E) What are the toughest challenges the youth have to face? Are we, as the youth, doing enough? (RS) The biggest challenge is both a lack of awareness about current affairs as well as lack of interest in them. The latter is a challenge we have created for ourselves and a bigger one since it requires changing our own mindset before changing the way things are at present. We keep accepting situations as they come to us while at the same time, we still want a better life. As the youth, we need to have a greater sense of belonging to the future, because the future is ours, both to create and to live. In that respect, it is time for us to not sit back but engage ourselves into matters that will affect our lives as well as those of others. It is within this context that Rights Camera Action comes into the picture since we aim to get the youth involved in issues facing the country today (E) What is your biggest takeaway from this conclave? (RS) While filling the delegate selection application for this conference, the same question had been asked. I am taking back a lot more than I expected to. I knew that the 100 chosen delegates would be passionate about working for the focus areas, and as young people, we would all be buzzing with ideas. However, we were provided with professional mentors who channelized our thoughts and we learnt the right way of implementation, which is what every idea needs in order to be translated into action. On a personal note, I got the opportunity to know and brainstorm with an amazing set of bright and capable individuals who were my peers I now look forward to making Rights Camera Action the active youth platform that all of us envision it to be. (E) Change is … (RS) All about the impact it generates

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photographs by Tanu Dogra

United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave

As for my own experience, this was one of the best weekends I’ve ever had and was a great way to start my year. Being an entrepreneur who believes in the power of constant innovation, I felt that I was at the right place, since there were so many people with fantastic ideas wanting to do something for the country. The first evening was pretty difficult for me since I was from Hyderabad and the dinner was in the open-air lawns of UNIC where it was bitterly cold. But that was a small glitch in the eventual picture. The second evening was rather productive and I learnt many new things, especially about the media. These new perspectives added to my thoughts when it came to social development. The best part was when we got to hear about the secrets of a venture capitalist’s thinking patterns. It was a wholesome learning and sharing experience for me and I made good friends during the short stay in Delhi. Currently, I am working on developing multiple concepts that were the fruit of the three-day conclave.

he meeting of 100 young minds from across the country was quite a unique experience. Before I write about my experience at the YCC, I’d like tell you about the conclave itself. The YCC was a conference designed for the “leaders and initiators” of tomorrow in India. The threeday conclave kick-started with an inspirational speech from Dr. Shashi Tharoor, who fired up the 100 youngsters who were already eager for action. The next day was our day of learning and interaction from some of the best in media, social development, venture capitalist groups etc. This day also included meeting the team mentors who were top professionals well-versed in the mores of their respective industries and eager to share their knowledge and wisdom with the young folks. On day three, intense brain-storming and ideation sessions were to lead to initiatives which would serve the UN Millennium Goals. In the evening, after a spirited round of presentations, two teams with the best proposals were funded. Even though the conclave ended at the point, fortunately, this was not the end. In fact it was the beginning of many noble ideas to change the country for the better.

Satya Kari is a young budding entrepeneur from Hyderabad and can be reached at Kari.satya@gmail.com

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I wish that such conferences would happen more frequently. I would classify this kind of experience and learning as something which is way beyond what one can learn in a school or college. Change will come only when our generation joins hands irrespective of cast, creed or sex. Moreover, the youth of this country must direct their energies not just towards economic development but compete development of the country such as alleviating poverty and hunger. Bringing about change is not easy, but then, neither is growing up. © EXPRESSIONS 2011

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IN THE NEWS Okhla sanctuary draws 50,000 birds from Europe Parmindar Singh Greater Noida, December 26

Thousands of migratory birds of hundreds of different species have come to the Okhla bird sanctuary this year due to a longish cold spell in European countries. According to officials, every year over a 100 migratory bird species arrive here. Common hoopoe, kingfisher, painted stork, white ibis, great egret, cattle egret, red vented bulbul, spotted owlet, bank mynah, and several local species could be seen at the park. The sanctuary has witnessed a 30% increase in the inflow of birds this season as western and European countries have been experiencing long spells of snowfall. According to officials, more than 50,000 migratory birds have found their temporary home at the park. JM Banerjee, ranger and in-charge of the park, said, “There are around 25,000 Austrian gulls at the park. In a survey conducted last week, it was found that there were around 250 painted storks, 80 purple moorhens, 70 spoon bills, 150 spot bills and 250 cormorants. Total bird count was around 50,000. Meanwhile, to develop the bird sanctuary at Surajpur in Greater Noida, Rs 6 crore has been released to start the work for the first phase. The project, which will come up on 300 hectare, will be 13th such facility in Uttar Pradesh. The forest department which has been given the money has already started the work for the pathways and fencing. “More funds will be given as and when needed. The project is expected to be completed in next six months”, said Rama Raman, chief executive officer, Greater Noida Authority. The purpose of the project is to set up a base for migratory birds. Bird specialists are being consulted to give the final shape to the project, he said. Fountains will be set up amid the dense forest area. Artificial ponds and lakes will add charm to the whole area. It will act as an entertainment centre for Greater Noida residents and a place of research for students. It will be a repository of information on birds. An exhibition hall will be set up where habitats and life cycles of various birds will be displayed. It will be a unique project in the NCR region. The authority is bearing the cost of the project and the forest department is providing the land. Besides, the department is developing the project, it is learnt. The park is being developed as an ideal destination for bird watchers. Trees like neem and acacia will be planted.

Pasted from <http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101227/delhi.htm#9>

Over 6 lac birds arrived in Kashmir Spread over 14.5 square kilometre, Shallabugh wetland in Ganderbal in occupied Kashmir has till now received over six lac migratory birds this season. According to Kashmir Media Service the migratory birds, which visit this wetland mostly, come from Northern Europe, Siberia, Central Asia and China. The migratory birds come to the Valley every year covering thousands of miles from far off lands. Connected with the famous AancharSar and the SangamSar, Shallabugh wetland is one among the Asia’s

IN THE NEWS biggest wetland reserves. We have so far received over six lac flying visitors here at this wetland,” said In-charge, Wetland Shallabugh, Abdul Rashid Wani. He said that the number was likely to increase provided the water here didn’t freeze much. This season, the migratory birds started to throng this wetland from November, last year. The birds are likely to be here till March to mid April this year,” Wani said. Some of the migratory birds visiting the Shallabugh reserve include Goose, Bar Goose, White Heeled Duck, Shoveller, Red-Crested Pochard, White-Eyed Pochard, Common Teal, Pintail, Mallard, Gadwall, Coot, Hoonk and Graylag. Among these, Pintail, Common Teal and Gadwall are the birds visiting this wetland in great number than others. To check the hunting in the Shallabugh Wetland, the wildlife wetland department has increased the vigil.

Pasted from <http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7835844-over-6-lac-migratory-birdsarrive-in-kashmir-wetland>

Birds in Gujarat fall victim to glass-coated kite strings 13 January 2010 20:24:54 by ANI

Ahmedabad, Jan 13(ANI): Ahmedabad may have bid goodbye to the 20th Annual International Kite Festival, which was held on January 10, but with just a day to go before the Hindu festival of Uttarayan, the skies are still teeming with kites, and the colourful display has felled scores of birds. Many birds have fallen victim to the deadly glass-coated kite strings, which are also known as ‘manja’. “The only thing that will save the birds is awareness among the people to fly less kites. It’s not only during Uttarayan on the 14th that this happens; the ‘manja’ (kite-string) that is used gets entangled in the trees. When the birds enter the trees for roosting, their legs and wings are injured. We get some birds without wings,” said Dr. Percy Avari of the Bombay Veterinary College. The bird rescue helplines are proving to be the lifeline of the feathered creatures. “This time we are putting a software to track the birds. People who were complaining were given a number for their bird. From there, they can log on and see the status of their bird,” said SiddharthJaiswal, a volunteer. Meanwhile, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal welfare body, has urged kite lovers not to use glass-coated ‘manja’. PETA has also suggested people avoid flying kites before 9 am and after 5 pm, as this is the time when birds go out in search of food, or return to their nests. (ANI)

Pasted from <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Himachal-farmers-load-guns-for-Operation-Monkey/articleshow/7078254.cms>

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IN THE NEWS

Migratory birds feel at home in Keetham Lake

icare celebrates its first anniversary

India’s News.Net Sunday 23rd January, 2011 (ANI)

Media Clippings

The favourable winter climate of tropical India attracts thousands of birds from different parts of the globe to Keetham Lake, which is located near Uttar Pradesh’s Agra city. Amit Kumar Singh, the game warden of the bird sanctuary, told reporters on Saturday that due to the presence of various migratory birds, many bird enthusiasts are visiting the lake. “Thousands of people are coming to watch the migratory birds. Students from Aligarh Muslim University, research scholars from Delhi University and many bird watchers are also coming here to watch the birds,” said Singh. He further said that birds from different countries like China, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Siberia and other places are nesting in the lake. Over hundred varieties of migratory birds including bar headed Goose, Pelicans, china coot, ducks, open bill stork, black necked heron and spoon bill stark etc. at the lake. Anup Kumar Bari, a student from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), who visited the lake with a group of his college friends, said that they were able to view many foreign birds at the lake. “We are able to see many varieties of birds here at this place. The migratory birds have come from places like China, Sri Lanka etc. We are feeling very good after coming here. The officials here should try to maintain the peaceful environment in and around the lake. I am happy to see that such a habitat has been provided to the birds here and many migratory birds are coming here,” noted Bari. The Keetham Lake has been a natural habitat for the migratory birds with artificially created islands for shelter and breeding. It is a haven for various birds as it is full of fish that serve as their diet. For the purpose of viewing the birds, about eight watch towers have been erected in the vicinity of the lake and for the first time, two guides have been appointed to help the visitors in identifying various birds. Keetham Lake, which is also known as the ‘Sur Sarovar’, is a tranquil spot, ideal for a relaxed outing, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. The migratory birds add to the natural charm and beauty of the place. (ANI)

Pasted from <http://www.indiasnews.net/story/735218>

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FEBRUARY 2011

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FEBRUARY 2011